Access to justice and national security are among the major legal affairs issues in dispute as the men vying for the future role of federal attorney-general prepare for the upcoming election.

Asked what the single most important legal affairs issue was for voters, federal Attorney-General
Mark Dreyfus
said it was improving access to justice. That included “more efficient, better resourced courts, more funding for legal aid and other legal assistance providers, and increasing legal support for indigenous Australians", he said.

The man after his job, Liberal ­senator
George Brandis
, named community safety and national security as the top issue in the portfolio.

“The most important single task within the Attorney-General’s portfolio is to keep our nation secure, and our ­citizens safe, from terrorism," he said.

Some of the strongest differences lie in the legal aspects of immigration ­policy, particularly the controversial area of the treatment of asylum seekers.

Senator Brandis said the Coalition was concerned that the government, “for cynical political reasons, has been prepared to flagrantly disregard the protections of human rights which are contained, in particular, in section 198A of the Migration Act, a provision introduced by the Howard government".

“It is for that reason that the Coalition opposed the government’s legislative response to the High Court’s decision in the Malaysia Solution case, which would have stripped all relevant human rights protections from the act and substituted unlimited ministerial discretion," he said. In 2011, the High Court struck down the federal government’s plan for processing asylum seekers in Malaysia, causing a hurried political response on border protection.

Mr Dreyfus defended his government’s recent policy of sending asylum seekers to Papua New Guinea, saying Australia took its international obligations seriously as a signatory of the UN’s Refugee Convention and other relevant international treaties.

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“The government is satisfied that Australia is currently meeting its international legal obligations in relation to asylum seekers. Compliance with these obligations is broader than simply the content of legislation. It involves the totality of Australia’s legislation, administration and practice," he said.

Legal aid

The level of legal assistance funding, flagged by Mr Dreyfus as a major issue, has been pursued vigorously by professional bodies that say the sector is in ­crisis. The Law Council of Australia and the Law Institute of Victoria have called on the major parties to commit to restoring the Commonwealth’s share of legal assistance funding to 50 per cent, up from 32 per cent at present.

Community Law Australia also wrote to the major parties this week, saying 63 per cent of community legal centres had unmet client demand and 85 per cent had had to restrict services to clients as a result. Mr Dreyfus acknowledged there was still “unmet legal need", despite the additional funding allocated in recent years.

“That is why I commissioned a Productivity Commission inquiry into improving access to justice in Australia, which, along with a review into the national partnership agreement, will guide Labor policy for the next term," he said. But he lay the blame for the worst of the situation at the Coalition’s feet, saying “over the past seven years, federal Labor has achieved a substantial reversal of the Howard government’s savage cuts to legal assistance, but I am determined to do more".

Senator Brandis said a Coalition ­government would “seek to increase the Commonwealth’s contribution to legal aid" but “subject to the constraints imposed by the current budget ­emergency".

“It is important that, in a resource-constrained environment, the legal aid dollar be spent where it is most needed," he said. “The Coalition believes that casework is a more important role for legal assistance providers than advocacy, and would direct ­funding to community legal centres accordingly."

The Law Council asked the major parties this week for policy responses not only on legal aid funding but on resourcing for courts, the protection of rights, marriage equality and methods to reduce indigenous imprisonment. Responses are due on Tuesday.

Both men also pledged their support to the troubled national regulatory reform of the legal profession, which is currently only supported by NSW and Victoria and seeks a harmonised approach on areas such as legal education, discipline and trust accounts.

Mr Dreyfus said he was strongly committed to a truly national scheme, especially given the profession’s expansion into Asia. Senator Brandis said the reform had stalled but a Coalition ­victory “would see the national legal profession restored to among the most important priorities in the portfolio".

Some in the profession have also called for a statutory tort of privacy. The Coalition does not support this, but Mr Dreyfus said his government would consider the results of an Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry.